Jepson Herbarium
		University of California, Berkeley

Directory       News       Site Map       Home

Indexes to all accepted names and synonyms: | A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z |

Perennial, in soil or on or among rocks; rhizome creeping to erect, scaly.
Leaf: generally all ± alike (or of 2 kinds, fertile, sterile), generally < 50 cm, often < 25 cm; stipe generally thin, wiry, often dark, ×-section with vascular strands generally 1–3, less often many in circle; blade generally pinnate or ± palmate-pinnate (see Adiantum), often >= 2- compound, abaxially often with glands, ± powdery exudate, hairs, or scales; segments round, oblong, fan-shaped, or other, veins generally free.
Sporangia: in sori or not, marginal, submarginal, or along veins, covered by recurved, often modified segment margins (false indusia) or not; true indusia 0; spores spheric, sides flat or not, scar with 3 radiating branches.
± 40 genera, 500 species: worldwide, especially dry areas. [Windham 1993 FNANM 2:122–186] Definition of Cheilanthes, related genera problematic; traditional limits often untenable. —Scientific Editors: Alan R. Smith, Thomas J. Rosatti.

Key to Pteridaceae

Plant in soil or rock crevices; rhizome short- to long-creeping, scales overlapped, narrowly linear, light- to red- or medium-brown, often with dark mid-stripe.
Leaf: erect, persistent, < 1 m; stipes ± cylindric, generally dark or red-brown to ± black, ± shiny, glabrous; blade 1–4- pinnate; segments generally stalked, generally free, linear to rounded, lobed or not, often folded lengthwise when dried; veins generally free.
Sporangia: in ± continuous, submarginal bands, among a ± white to ± yellow exudate or not; segment margin generally recurved, generally modified; spores tan to light yellow.
± 35 species: tropics, temperate, few in Eur, 0 in Asia. (Greek: dusky, from blue-gray leaves) [Kirkpatrick 2007 Syst Bot 32:504–518] Occ cultivated; as defined by Tryon (1957), polyphyletic (Kirkpatrick, 2007).
Unabridged references: [Kirkpatrick, R.E.B. 2007. Investigating the monophyly of Pellaea (Pteridaceae) in the context of a phylogenetic analysis of cheilanthoid ferns. Syst Bot 32:504–518; Tryon 1957 Ann Missouri Bot Gard 44(2):125–193]
Unabridged note: Occ cult. Molecular data suggest Pellaea in the sense of Tryon (1957) is polyphyletic with monophyletic Astrolepis and Pellaea sect. Platyloma, as well as elements of Paragymnopteris and Paraceterach nested within (Kirkpatrick, 2007).

Rhizome short-creeping, branched, to 8+ cm, 2–3 mm wide; scales ± brown, mid-stripe dark.
Leaf: clustered, 15–30(36) cm, 4–11 cm wide, olive-green; stipe 1(2) mm wide, ± flat or adaxially grooved; blade 2- pinnate, narrowly triangular to oblong-triangular; pinnae generally not overlapped, ± spreading; segments 4–8 mm, 2–4 mm wide, linear to oblong, with mucro, margins wavy- crenate, often (especially sterile) ± white, fertile not appearing folded in half, recurved margins not meeting abaxially.
Sporangia: 64-spored.
2n=58. Generally in crevices of or at bases of granite (in CA) or igneous rock; 1200–1900 m. e Desert Mountains (Providence, New York mtns);

Previous taxon: Pellaea mucronata var. mucronata
Next taxon: Pentagramma

Contact/Feedback

Citation for the whole project: Jepson Flora Project (eds.) [year] Jepson eFlora, http://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/IJM.html [accessed on month, day, year]
Citation for an individual treatment: [Author of taxon treatment] [year]. [Taxon name] in Jepson Flora Project (eds.) Jepson eFlora, [URL for treatment]. Accessed on [month, day, year].

Copyright © 2012 Regents of the University of California
We encourage links to these pages, but the content may not be downloaded for reposting, repackaging, redistributing, or sale in any form, without written permission from The Jepson Herbarium.

Bioregions in which taxon occurs	Red area (if present) is the part of the bioregion lying between the upper and lower elevation limits of the taxon; markers link to CCH specimen records. If the markers are obscured, reload the page [or change window size and reload]. Yellow markers indicate records that may have georeferencing or identification issues.
Chart based on elevation range in Manual and elevations and coordinates of CCH records. Data provided by the participants of the Consortium of California Herbaria. Note: About half of the CCH records include both elevation and coordinates.	Map made in collaboration with Scott Loarie. Data provided by the participants of the Consortium of California Herbaria. View all CCH records   CCH collections by month Duplicates counted once; synonyms included. Species do not include records of infraspecific taxa. Blue line denotes Manual flowering time.